Created from March 1907 to December 1909, these dictations present Mark Twain at the end of his life: receiving an honorary degree from Oxford University; railing against Theodore Roosevelt; founding numerous clubs; incredulous at an exhibition of the Holy Grail; credulous about the authorship of Shakespeare's plays; relaxing in Bermuda; observing (and investing in) new technologies. The Autobiography's "Closing Words" movingly commemorate his daughter Jean, who died on Christmas Eve 1909. Also included in this volume is the previously unpublished "Ashcroft-Lyon Manuscript," Mark Twain's caustic indictment of his "putrescent pair" of secretaries and the havoc that erupted in his house during their residency.

At last the Autobiography of Mark Twain is made available as it was intended to be read. The text of all three volumes, with annotations and full critical apparatus, is available at Mark Twain Project Online.

Mark Twain's complete, uncensored Autobiography was an instant bestseller when the first volume was published in 2010, on the centennial of the author's death, as he had requested. Published to rave reviews, the Autobiography was hailed as the capstone of Twain's career. It captures his authentic and unsuppressed voice, speaking clearly from the grave and brimming with humor, ideas, and opinions.

Volume 2, published in 2013, delves deeper into Mark Twain's life, uncovering the many roles he played in his private and public worlds. Filled with his characteristic blend of humor and ire, the narrative ranges effortlessly across the contemporary scene. He shares his views on writing and speaking, his preoccupation with money, and his contempt for the politics and politicians of his day. Affectionate and scathing by turns, his intractable curiosity and candor are everywhere on view.

"I've struck it!" Mark Twain wrote in a 1904 letter to a friend. "And I will give it away—to you. You will never know how much enjoyment you have lost until you get to dictating your autobiography." Thus, after dozens of false starts and hundreds of pages, Twain embarked on his "Final (and Right) Plan" for telling the story of his life. His innovative notion—to "talk only about the thing which interests you for the moment"—meant that his thoughts could range freely. The strict instruction that many of these texts remain unpublished for 100 years meant that when they came out, he would be "dead, and unaware, and indifferent," and that he was therefore free to speak his "whole frank mind." The year 2010 marks the 100th anniversary of Twain's death. In celebration of this important milestone and in honor of the cherished tradition of publishing Mark Twain's works, Berkeley Press is proud to offer for the first time Mark Twain's uncensored autobiography in its entirety and exactly as he left it. This major literary event brings to readers, admirers, and scholars the first of three volumes and presents Mark Twain's authentic and unsuppressed voice, brimming with humor, ideas, and opinions, and speaking clearly from the grave as he intended.

The Judith Lee Stronach Memorial Lectures on the Teaching of Poetry

Teaching the Slow Event

By Lyn Hejinian, 2017

The thirteenth Judith Lee Stronach Memorial Lecture on the Teaching of Poetry was part of an event recognizing the commitment, accomplishments, and abundance of Judith's life.

"This Bequest of Wings" On Teaching Poetry in a Region of Conflict

By Rachel Tzvia Back, 2016

The twelfth Judith Lee Stronach Memorial Lecture on the Teaching of Poetry was part of an event recognizing the commitment, accomplishments, and abundance of Judith's life.

Body Musics and the Empire of Time

By Ross Gay, 2015

The eleventh Judith Lee Stronach Memorial Lecture on the Teaching of Poetry was part of an event recognizing the commitment, accomplishments, and abundance of Judith's life.

Hog Killing

By Nikky Finney, 2014

The tenth Judith Lee Stronach Memorial Lecture on the Teaching of Poetry was part of an event recognizing the commitment, accomplishments, and abundance of Judith's life.

The Life of Creative Translation

By Gary Snyder, 2013

The ninth Judith Lee Stronach Memorial Lecture on the Teaching of Poetry was part of an event recognizing the commitment, accomplishments, and abundance of Judith's life.

Learning from Translation

By Chana Bloch, 2012

The eighth Judith Lee Stronach Memorial Lecture on the Teaching of Poetry was part of an event recognizing the commitment, accomplishments, and abundance of Judith's life.

A History of My Befuddlement

By Philip Levine, 2009

The sixth Judith Lee Stronach Memorial Lecture on the Teaching of Poetry was part of an event recognizing the commitment and accomplishments and abundance of Judith's life.

Poetry, Love, and Mercy

By Carl Phillips, 2009

The fifth Judith Lee Stronach Memorial Lecture on the Teaching of Poetry was part of an event recognizing the commitment, accomplishments, and abundance of Judith's life.

What Does an Elegy Do?

By Sharon Olds, 2009

The fourth Judith Lee Stronach Memorial Lecture on the Teaching of Poetry was part of an event recognizing the commitment, accomplishments, and abundance of Judith's life.

Cracks in the Oracle Bone: Teaching Certain Contemporary Poems

By Brenda Hillman, 2008

The third Judith Lee Stronach Memorial Lecture on the Teaching of Poetry was part of an event recognizing the commitment, accomplishments, and abundance of Judith's life.

"You Only Guide Me by Surprise": Poetry and the Dolphin's Turn

By Peter Sacks, 2007

The second Judith Lee Stronach Memorial Lecture on the Teaching of Poetry was part of an event recognizing the commitment and accomplishments and abundance of Judith's life. Peter Sacks gives an inspiring lecture about the origins of poetry, conjuring ancient and mystical connections among dolphins, poets, and poetic inspiration.

On Teaching Poetry

By Robert Hass, 2006

The first Judith Lee Stronach Memorial Lecture on the Teaching of Poetry was part of an event recognizing the commitment and accomplishments and abundance of Judith's life. A commemoration of Judith’s love of poetry and her love of teaching, this lecture (led by Robert Hass) relights the lamp of her brilliance that was extinguished on November 29, 2002.

Other Publications

Literary Industries: Chasing a Vanishing West

By Hubert Howe Bancroft and edited by Kim Bancroft, 2013

A bookseller in San Francisco during the Gold Rush, Hubert Howe Bancroft (1832-1918) rose to become the man who would define the early history of California and the West. Creating what he called a "history factory," he assembled a vast library of more than sixty thousand books, maps, letters, and documents; hired scribes to copy material in private hands; employed interviewers to capture the memories of early Spanish and Mexican settlers; and published multiple volumes sold throughout the country by his subscription agents. In 1890 he published an eight-hundred-page autobiography, aptly entitled Literary Industries.

Literary Industries sparkles with the exuberance of nineteenth-century California and introduces us to a man of great complexity and wit. Edited and abridged for the modern reader yet relating the history of the West as it was taking place—and as it was being recorded—Kim Bancroft's edition of Literary Industries is a joy to read.

Beyond Words: 200 Years of Illustrated Diaries

By Susan Snyder, 2011

Beyond Words is a collection of excerpts from 50 illustrated diaries spanning 200 years of adventure and contemplation. From the records of 18th-century Spanish explorer Pedro Font to those of a young David Brower first encountering the wilderness, these unfolding stories reveal as much about the times in which they were written as they do the diarists’ particular inner worlds. Whether filled with chicken-scratch sketches or gilded illuminations, these diaries have become objets d’art that expand our understanding of the uniquely compelling experiences of their creators—from anonymous writers to luminaries like LeConte and Muir, and from Beat poets to 12-year-old girls. Beyond Words is a fascinating and intimate collection that will inspire you to pull out pen and paper to capture the fleeting images and experiences of your own life.

Celebrating Mexico

Edited by Charles Faulhaber, 2010

A generously illustrated bilingual catalogue, jointly published by The Stanford University Libraries and The Bancroft Library, commemorates the 200th anniversary of Mexico's independence from Spain and the 100th anniversary of the Mexican Revolution. It accompanies the concurrent "Celebrating Mexico" exhibits held at both institutions. In addition to three scholarly essays and a complete checklist of each library's exhibition, 86 full-color images drawn from the collections of both institutions illustrate aspects of Mexican Independence and significant events of the Revolution.

Bancroft Anniversary Poster

By David Lance Goines, 2009

This limited edition poster by renowned Berkeley artist David Lance Goines celebrates the 100th anniversary of The Bancroft Library at Berkeley and the 150th anniversary of its foundation.

Songs of California: The U.C. Berkeley Tradition

Compiled by the Cal Song Book Committee, 2007

The 1890s saw the beginning of the creation of Cal’s college songs, and that tradition continued strongly through the 1930s. Cal songs were played by the Cal Band and sung by all the living groups, spirit groups, and the Glee Club—not only at athletic events but also at all University occasions. In 1944, these representations of school spirit were compiled into a portable song book, Songs of California, from which students could learn them. The turbulent 1960s, however, took their toll on this musical tradition, and fewer and fewer students and alumni actually knew, sang, or played these wonderful songs. This new Songs of California is intended, as was its 1944 predecessor, to preserve Cal’s rich musical heritage and revitalize the singing and playing of these songs. It includes the selections of the earlier version, as well as a number of new ones written since the 1944 publication. The musical score, along with background history, is provided for each song.

Exploring The Bancroft Library

Co-edited by Charles Faulhaber and Stephen Vincent, 2006

Out of Print

In this centennial guide, readers are introduced to the day-to-day life of an institution devoted to the collection, preservation, and study of original documents. From an in-depth look at the way material is acquired and conserved to chapters by individual curators on the history and highlights of the collections entrusted to their care, this book celebrates Bancroft's one hundred years on the Berkeley campus.

Testimonios: Early California through the Eyes of Women, 1815-1848

By Rose Marie Beebe and Robert M. Senkewicz, 2006

From the editors of the highly influential Lands of Promise and Despair, here are thirteen women’s firsthand accounts from the time California was part of Spain and Mexico. Having lived through the Gold Rush and seen their country change so drastically, these women understood the need to tell the full story of the people and the places that were their California. Some of their words are translated here into English for the first time.

Un Manuscrito Inédito de Poesías de José Joaquín Fernández de Lizardi

By Nancy Vogeley, 2004

Nancy Vogeley examines the emergence of the novel in Mexico at the conclusion of Spain's 300 years of colonial rule. Acknowledged as Spanish America's first novelist, José Joaquín Fernández de Lizardi introduced the genre into Mexico during its war of independence. His 1816 novel, El Periquillo Sarniento, became the symbol of new nationhood, and his commentary on social issues contributed to the revolutionary dialogue.

Drawn West: Honeyman Collection of Western Americana

By Jack von Euw and Genoa Shepley, 2004

Out of Print

The Honeyman Collection could be described formally as a collection of more than 2,300 items that focus on the visual interpretation of California and the West from 1790 through the early 1930s. During the days of exploration and settlement, the region was full of adventure, danger and wonders—and before there were cameras, artists depicted all of it.

Bear in Mind: The California Grizzly

By Susan Snyder, 2003

Once arguably the most powerful and terrifying animal in the California landscape, the grizzly now lives in the imagination, a disembodied symbol of the romantic West. More than 150 images from The Bancroft Library's collections—newspaper illustrations, paintings, photo albums, sheet music, settler's diaries, fruit crate labels, and more—accompany the bear stories of Indians, explorers, vaqueros, forty-niners, and naturalists. The result is a uniquely compelling natural history, a grand book worthy of its subject.

Esteban José Martínez: His Voyage in 1779 to Supply Alta California

Edited by Vivian C. Fisher, 2002

The 1779 diary of Esteban José Martínez details his voyages on the frigate Santiago, including visits to "the establishments of San Francisco, Monterey, and San Diego." The text is transcribed in the original Spanish language and translated into English.

Guide to the Manuscripts Concerning Baja California in the Collections of The Bancroft Library

Edited by Rose Marie Beebe and Robert M. Senkewicz, 2002

This guide contains more than 5,000 entries for resources in The Bancroft Library relating to the history of Baja California. Important resources on maritime history, mission history, demographic history, and trans-border relationships are identified in the Spanish-language publication.

Silicon Raj: Making a Difference to America's Future

Photos by Rick Rocamora, 2001

Silicon Raj is a photo-documentary work to honor the contributions of Indians in America, in business, the arts, publishing, medicine, academia, and many other fields.

Catalogue II of the Regional Oral History Office

Edited by Suzanne B. Riess, 1998

Continuing from Catalogue I, Catalogue II covers the interviews completed from 1980 to 1998, capturing the accounts of both individuals and entire communities. These oral histories give rich insight to the generation of winegrowers who re-created the industry after Prohibition, the lawyers and judges who made the California Supreme Court arguably the most influential state tribunal in the country, the artists and musicians who have enriched our lives, the philanthropists who have given of their time and money to make the Bay Area a better place to live, and the businesspeople who have created one of the most dynamic regional economies in the United States.

Mark Twain at Large: Exhibition Catalog

By Lin Salamo, Harriet Elinor Smith, and Robert Pack Browning, 1998

Outof Print

This award-winning catalogue documents a major exhibition at The Bancroft Library drawn from the Mark Twain Papers. An excerpt is available as a Bancroft web exhibition.

The Gold and Silver of Spanish America, c. 1572-1648

By Engel Sluiter, 1998

Through an extensive search of archival resources in Spain and Spanish America, the author has compiled a wealth of quantitative data on the quantity and allocations of gold and silver in Spanish America. The information is presented in tabular form with brief introductions before each section, showing bullion declared for taxation in colonial royal treasuries, remittances to Spain, and expenditures for defense of empire. This synthesis of data is based upon materials found in the Engel Sluiter Historical Documents Collection at The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.

Utah Pioneer Merchant: The Memoirs of Samuel H. Auerbach

Edited by Judith Robinson, 1998

Samuel H. Auerbach was a German Jewish immigrant who became a financial success and pillar of the community in Salt Lake City, Utah. The original memoir forms part of the Samuel H. Auerbach Papers in The Bancroft Library.

The Weber Era in Stockton History

By George P. Hammond, 1989

A history of Bavarian-born Charles Weber’s arrival in California in 1841, his pioneering years in California, his founding of Stockton, establishment of a 48,000 acre rancho in the Central Valley, and his long and successful marriage to Helen Murphy, whose father had immigrated to California in 1844.

Contemporary Danish Book Art: Exhibition Catalog

By Poul Steen Larsen, 1988

This exhibition catalog, with illustrations in color and in black and white, accompanied a 1988 display of Danish books that traveled throughout the United States. The works represented in this publication demonstrate that the art of book-making is very much alive in modern Denmark.

A Check-list of Publications of H. H. Bancroft and Company, 1857 to 1870

By Henry R. Wagner and Eleanor Bancroft with a preface by Ruth Frey Axe, 1987

This checklist includes a wide variety of imprints produced by the firm of H. H. Bancroft and Company, the corporate title used during the collaborative period of Hubert Howe Bancroft and his brother Albert Bancroft.

Reminiscences

By George P. Hammond, 1986

George P. Hammond served as Director of The Bancroft Library from 1946 to 1965. His reminiscences trace family life from early years in North Dakota, to which the Hammond family had immigrated from Denmark, to Hammond's emeritus years at Bancroft till 1985.

Guide to The Book Artifacts Collection

By Flora Elizabeth Reynolds, 1985

The Book Artifacts Collection (BART) at The Bancroft Library contains materials relating to the development of writing, the history of printing, and the various book arts. This illustrated guide offers information for the uninitiated and the expert and includes a detailed subject and name index.

A Guide to the Life and Works of Frederick J. Teggart

By Grace Dangberg, 1983

In 1930 Frederick J. Teggart, a humanist, delivered a Phi Beta Kappa oration at Berkeley before the University of California chapter. He concluded with these words: "The next thirty years will determine whether, as humanists, we are to take our place as the true representatives of the ideal that the affairs of men should be directed not by opinion, ignorance, and self-seeking, but by the highest exercise of human intelligence." In the fifty years since these words were spoken, natural and physical scientists have made significant advances; yet we still live in a culture, a society, a civilization that we do not understand. Such understanding must come about, as Teggart emphasized repeatedly, from studying the records of man's experience in answer to the question: How has man everywhere come to be as he is?

The Writing of My Uncle Dudley

By Wright Morris, 1982

Wright Morris, noted author of numerous works including a novel, My Uncle Dudley (1942), delivered this talk at the opening of the exhibition, "First Books by Notable Authors," at The Bancroft Library, February 21, 1982. The Bancroft Library houses many examples of his printed and manuscript materials.

Les Jeunes: An Account of Some Fin de Siècle San Francisco Authors and Artists

By Lawrence Dinnean, 1980

This pamphlet details the origins and development of a group of avant-garde San Francisco writers and artists at the end of the nineteenth century. The group adopted the name "Les Jeunes," a phrase first coined in a New York Times review of Lark, a magazinelet first published by the group in 1895. The pamphlet was issued to accompany an exhibition at The Bancroft Library, Feb. 25-May 16, 1980.

Catalogue of the Regional Oral History Office

Edited by Suzanne B. Riess and Willa K. Baum, 1979

Since the 1950s, the Regional Oral History Office (now the Oral History Center) has been interviewing leading figures and well-placed witnesses to major events and trends in the history of Northern California, the West, and the nation. This catalogue, covering work completed from 1954 to 1979, reflects the strong role of the Berkeley campus in this tremendous undertaking: the subject fields and persons for interviewing are recommended by many sources within the University and community-wide, and approved by the faculty. These oral histories are created as primary resources for research to be preserved for all users, present and future.

The Plate of Brass Reexamined: A Supplement

By The Bancroft Library, 1979

This pamphlet summarizes further testing on the Plate of Brass, once thought to have been left by Sir Francis Drake on the California coast in 1579, which was conducted under the auspices of The Bancroft Library in 1979.

The Plate of Brass Reexamined

By The Bancroft Library, 1977

In 1977, The Bancroft Library arranged for a new series of scientific tests of the Plate of Brass, once thought to have been left by Sir Francis Drake on the California coast in 1579. The results of the tests indicated that the brass was almost certainly of twentieth-century manufacture, thus suggesting that the Plate of Brass is a forgery. This report summarizes the original testing of the 1930s and the new testing of the 1970s.

Cow Hollow: Early Days of a San Francisco Neighborhood from 1776

By John L. Levinsohn, 1976

This San Francisco neighborhood, once known as Spring Valley, then Golden Gate Valley, and now Cow Hollow is a residential section of the city that dates back to the earliest Spanish settlements. This narrative discusses those beginnings, including the landowners and shifts in land use.

Earth Poetry

By William Everson, 1971

This portfolio contains the first separate edition of the essay "Earth Poetry." The text originally appeared in the Sierra Club Bulletin, July 1970, and was published in a 1980 collection of essays titled Earth Poetry: Selected Essays & Interviews.

Frank Norris Petitions the President and Faculty ofthe University of California

Introduction by Franklin Walker Dickerson, 1970

This facsimile publication was issued on the occasion of the centennial of the birth of Frank Norris. The popular author attended Berkeley 1890-1894, leaving without a degree for a fifth year of study at Harvard University. The petition reproduced herein was prepared by Norris during the first semester of his sophomore year and requested permission to select his own college courses in order to concentrate on becoming a writer of fiction.

Poetry of the Golden Age

By Antonio Rodríguez-Moñino, 1968

Antonio Rodríguez-Moñino presents the evidence used to sustain a critical reconstruction of Spanish poetry in the Golden Age. The discourse was read before the Modern Languages Association in New York, 1963.

Woman of California: Susanna Bryant Dakin

By W. W. Robinson, 1968

In the first of an annual lecture series established by Mr. and Mrs. Jake Zeitlin in memory of Susanna Bryant Dakin, W. W. Robinson offers a fascinating portrait of a woman with many accomplishments, including invaluable service to The Bancroft Library as a Council member, editor and author, philanthropist, and tireless advocate.

The Padre on Horseback: A Sketch of Eusebio Francisco Kino, S.J., Apostle to the Pimas

By Herbert Eugene Bolton, 1963, reissued 1976

Father Kino is an important although under-appreciated pioneer of the American Southwest and Pacific Coast. Kino is described here as a "missionary, rancher, explorer, and geographer."

The Changing Responsibilities of a U.S. Senator: An Address

By William Fife Knowland, 1959

United States Senator William F. Knowland delivered the address at the twelfth annual meeting of the Friends of the Bancroft Library on May 3, 1959. He discussed the evolution of duties for a U.S. Senator and offered observations on the lineage of U.S. senators from the State of California.

Landscapes and Bookscapes of California

By Lawrence Clark Powell, 1958

Noted author and librarian Lawrence Clark Powell offered this talk as the 11th annual address delivered before the Friends of The Bancroft Library on May 4, 1958. Powell offers a thoughtful essay that relates the physical landscape of California to the literary contributions offered by some of its most notable authors.

The California Background, Spanish or American?

By John D. Hicks, 1957

Delivered as the 10th annual address before the Friends of the Bancroft Library on May 5, 1957, this essay explores the ramifications for a state such as California, with roots in Spanish culture, and the traditions of many other nationalities. In that sense, concludes the author, "California today is, as [Frederick Jackson] Turner once said of the whole West, the most American part of America."

The Bancroft Library: Whence-What-Whither

By Carl Irving Wheat, 1955

An address delivered on May 22, 1955, before The Friends of The Bancroft Library in commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of its acquisition by The University of California by Carl, a lawyer, former Chairman of the Council of the Friends of The Bancroft Library and an author on many phases of the American West, including cartography, provides a historical perspective on the first half century of The Bancroft Library.

Reproduction of a Watercolor of a Dance in Peru

By Gunner William H. Meyers of the warship Cyane

William H. Meyers served aboard the U.S. Sloop of War Cyane. His papers include an illustrated journal (July-Sept. 1842) recorded while in Chile and Peru; two letters, 1843 and 1844, describing further voyages to Hawaii, California, and Mexico on the Cyane; and six watercolors, including a self-portrait. This reproduction depicts a dance in Peru.

Reproduction of a Watercolor of the American Capture of Monterey, 1842

By Gunner William H. Meyers of the warship Cyane

William H. Meyers served aboard the U.S. Sloop of War Cyane. His papers include an illustrated journal (July-Sept. 1842) recorded while in Chile and Peru; two letters, 1843 and 1844, describing further voyages to Hawaii, California, and Mexico on the Cyane; and six watercolors, including a self-portrait. This reproduction depicts the "Taking of Monterey, Oct 20th, 1842, by the Frigate United States Sloop of War Cyane in West California.”